Appreciating Mr. B. Lloyd Lard 10-15-11

Douglas LeeOct 15, 2011 9:30 AM

Good Morning, Broncos fans! No real news on the Broncos front, or developments in the Brandon Lloyd situation, but I thought I'd share some thoughts on Lloyd. Brandon has been a truly remarkable player for Denver, and it's been a shame to see folks dragging his name around like he's a malcontent or more of a "me guy" than any other NFL player. Sure, he never really did much of anything pre-Denver and never lived up to his billing, and perhaps he was something of an unhappy camper while playing for three different teams in six years. But really, who cares about that stuff? This is Brandon's third season in Denver, so don't we have enough to go on from seeing him on the field and hearing/reading what he has to say every week to form a true opinion of the guy?

For one, the guy spent 14 weeks on the inactive list in 2009 while making the minimum $620K (plus a $50K signing bonus) and we never heard a peep. He then goes out in 2010 and produces one of the best, if not the best, season(s) of any WR in the league and receives a $755K salary, which was the minimum for his experience level (he later received a $500K incentive for making the Pro Bowl). This year, he is playing for a $1.395M salary in the final year of the two-year contract he signed with Denver after having dressed twice in 2009. Yet, we have never heard any inkling of a complaint from either Lloyd or his agent about playing time, his salary or his contract in the 2.3 seasons he's been a Bronco, during which he's made about $2.36M so far and would make about $3M total through the end of this season.

So to recap, that's 104 catches for 1,848 yards and 11 touchdowns in 22 games for $2.36M, while the übertalented guy McDoofus stoopidly traided away has been paid about $14.5M over the past 1.3 seasons (it'll be $19M by season's end) by Miami in exchange for the 108 catches, 1,327 yards, four scores and endless drama for your mama he's already provided. Oh, and he's promising some more of that Monday night (Shutdown Corner, With Leather).

But let's get back to Mr. BLloyd and what we've gotten out of the guy so far: countless highlight-reel catches, many of which already rank among the best we've ever seen from any Bronco (heck, the top ten may all be his), probably the single best season of any Denver WR in history, and thoughtful quotes with zero drama (unless of course, one considers sticking up for the starting QB to be "drama"). He may soon be supplanted by Von Miller in this regard, but Brandon has been the most consistently exciting Bronco to watch since Clinton Portis left eight years ago. The guy is intelligent, well spoken, and he even went out and got himself a job selling specialty aerospace metals during the lockout. Brandon is a unique fellow, and even though he's only played 22 games as a Bronco, his legacy in Denver should be a lasting one for all of us lucky to have seen him play and hear him speak.

Trust me, we will not see a WR in orange and blue with his combination of elite talent and introspection again for a very long time, if ever. BLloyd, thanks for your time here - we hope that one-handed sideline grab Sunday wasn't the end of your Denver career, but if it was, my was it ever an appropriate one.

11:30AM ET - I somehow managed to leave out a crucial point here - Vic Lombardi tweeted yesterday that Denver had offered Llloyd an unguaranteed one-year contract for 2012 amounting to just $4-5 million, which is frankly a laughable figure for someone of Lloyd's caliber, unless he has a lingering injury we don't know about. So, why is it laughable? Nobody in their right mind would agree to such a contract, and no agent worth his cut would ever steer their client to do so. Assuming Lombardi heard correctly, it's quite clear Denver has zero interest in retaining Lloyd, because they're apparently not willing to pay him even half of his appropriate market value. I'm not suggesting this is an incorrect strategy on Denver's part (not wanting to retain Lloyd with Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas waiting in the wings) but why even bother making such a feeble offer? Just to be able to tell the fans "We were in serious discussions with Brandon's representation about keeping him in a Broncos uniform but could not agree to a figure"? I sure hope they don't do Brandon like that...

Broncos

Lindsay Jones catches up with "bust" Robert Ayers and his switch back to playing defensive end.

Ted Sundquist explains the ins and outs of how NFL trades go down while sadly perpetuating the myths about Lloyd being a bad guy.

J.J. Cooper shares sack data which shows that the median sack time over the past few seasons is 2.7 seconds. Of course, feel free to twist this into "Orton is the worst QB in history" and "Tebow is obviously going to be the best ever" at your leisure.

A slew of interesting facts from CHFF on the season so far, plus some "proof" that Tebow is preternatural.

Utilizing PFF's grades, Matt Miller shows that you've got to spend high draft picks to find quality OTs, and that applies to those on the right side at least as much as it does on the left.

Rob Rang polled a small group of talent evaluators (at least he gives a number, unlike Captain Rolodex) who said the top scouting departments are in the Packers, Ravens, Steelers, Giants, and Jaguars organizations.

Excellent new meme - the creepiness that is Alex Rodriguez. BTW, the Yanks have him locked up for another six years for $143M hahaha.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

@ oorange (31): take a pill, man. I was referring (in my comment @ 28) to the first two paragraphs of TJ&#8217s comment @ 27, not his last paragraph.

But hey, if you enjoy jerking your knee a lot, skip the pill.

Posted by bradley on 2011-10-16 12:54:36

Thanks for supporting one of our best players Doug. I&#8217ve felt like one of the minority at MHR at suggesting that trading Lloyd is a crazy idea and that we should pay the man.

Posted by orangeblue_aussie on 2011-10-16 04:27:18

BTW,I forgot to add: My Dolphins friend is now saying that Brandon Marshall is overpaid. Only took him a little over a year to figure that out.

Brandon Lloyd is way underpaid for the value he brings to this team.

Posted by BlackKnight on 2011-10-16 02:15:17

Good piece of work on the lard today, Doug.

Brandon Lloyd needs to be kept in a Bronco uniform and paid what he is worth. How many times has he not been able to play? Not many if any. If we are truly wanting to keep the best players on this team, pay the man. As someone else pointed out, BL can bail TT out with his ability and athleticism.

He is on a roll now right here. Keep him on it.

If Bowlen (or Ellis) are not interested in paying their players market value, maybe they need to sell the team (or find another line of work).

Thanks Doug.

Posted by BlackKnight on 2011-10-16 02:12:40

Dude, thanks for that. I had *no* idea. I did see BLloyd&#8217s tweet to Bayless earlier asking for an apology but it did seem written with humor and a wink. But yeah, still doesn&#8217t say much for Bayless if he basically has the inside dope and still makes crap up to get ratings and stir debate. He should feel so proud of himself. How sad.

Posted by underdog on 2011-10-15 23:49:41

Bradly, some thing or some person has to be at the front edge of the bell curve when it comes to driving website hits. What&#8217s so lamentable about that person being Tebow?

Posted by oorange blood on 2011-10-15 22:22:32

One thing that concerns me with Lloyd is that he is a big personality. We don&#8217t know how he will react if he were to receive a big time contract.

He has never gotten that big contract. Will he ease up when he gets his money? Is he gonna dedicate himself in the off seasons like he has in years prior?

Just one of the questions I have.

Posted by NickCast on 2011-10-15 21:39:23

My memory is that Lloyd went a little beyond being pro-Orton. I don&#8217t recall specifics, am I&#8217m too lazy and tired to research it, but I recall having the impression that he was saying Tebow can&#8217t play. There were people in this community, me included, that speculated he was the Silver source, and I don&#8217t recall it being a huge reach to at least put him on the suspect list. So it may very well be that simple. Lloyd is and was entitled to his opinion, but he committed to the wrong horse so to speak.

Or, more likely, it could be that the Broncos are fresh off of dispensing with another &#8216irreplaceable&#8217 talent last year and surviving it. I know that as down as some fans are on D. Thomas, most of players and football people that saw his work in camp last year think he&#8217s gonna be a star (Interesting factoid: The Sporting News War Room had Thomas at #3 overall on their 2010 Big Board). It makes as much (or more) sense to find out what they really have in Thomas as it does in finding out the same with Tebow, and the best way to do that is throw him (Thomas) right into the fire. And really, when you cut to the chase, Lloyd has been so incredibly valuable that his Superstar Period has resulted in a w/l of 5 and 20. That&#8217s not a rip on Lloyd, but I don&#8217t see how sacrificing a little talent and saving a lot money can make matters much worse at this point.

Posted by Drewthorn on 2011-10-15 21:27:16

What a world we live in.

Posted by bradley on 2011-10-15 21:01:26

Underdog:

Lloyd in his interview on 104.3 said that he and Skip are friends. He said Skip called him and apologized, but with the understanding that Skip needed to continue with his story for good TV.

In other words, Skip Bayless says things in hyperbole in order to drive ratings (go figure, right?), despite having friendships with the same guys. Brandon laughed it all off and thought it was funny. Obviously, Bayless must have convictions that simply melt away once the cameras turn off.

We&#8217ve found here that if you just put the words &#8220Tebow&#8221 in your headlines, you can do the same thing in less time.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-10-15 20:16:16

Wait, there are two prospectors now? Did one of them drink the wrong polyjuice potion?

Speaking of Lloyd, I still think Skip Bayless needs to apologize for his comments about BLloyd, which were way off base. Yet instead he continues to perpetuate the &#8220Brandon&#8217s an Orton friend thus they are trying to trade him.&#8221 If they ARE trying to trade him, it&#8217s because of the money/contract/future stuff as pointed out here by Doug, and not because he&#8217s some kind of imagined malcontent. Here he is on Twitter if anyone wants to give him a piece of their mind: @RealSkipBayless

Posted by underdog on 2011-10-15 18:49:32

The austerity measures weâve seen out of Dove Valley the last 3ish years have me worried. At some point, we are going to draft players worthy of a 2nd contract. Woodyard jumps to mind for 2012 and Marcus Thomas too if he has more games like his last one. Cleary Clady for 2013. Is Bolwen going to let these guys, and others like them, go?

Posted by McGeorges alter ego on 2011-10-15 18:41:17

Prospector: you seem to be writing about the opinions of a different Doug Lee. You may want to consider reading what Doug writes before criticizing things he doesn&#8217t actually write, say or believe. It&#8217s stuff like that that makes it so easy to make fun of displaced Tebow fanboys.

Overgard: completely agree about Sundquist&#8217s bizaro writing style. I read one of his &#8220posts&#8221 last month that must have &#8220used&#8221 ironic &#8220quotation&#8221 marks about &#8220fifty&#8221 times, not once &#8220correctly&#8221. Have avoided ever since. I guess he found the &#8220CAPS LOCK&#8221 key &#8220NOW&#8221 huh?

Posted by jvill on 2011-10-15 16:54:41

Who is Lloyd&#8217s agent?

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-10-15 16:40:57

Yo Prospector, when&#8217s the last time I wrote anything positive about Orton&#8217s play? And, when&#8217s the last time I cited Tebow&#8217s completion percentage as a stat? Peace out, thanks for painting me as an Orton Guy, that&#8217s pretty funny&#8230

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-10-15 16:27:31

Doug,

Loved the Lard today. Great job, man. And you make some great points that have certainly been glossed over.

On paper, the idea of moving Lloyd makes sense to me.

But man, he&#8217d really be a HUGE help to Tebow so, yeah, I&#8217m a little torn (Natalie Imbruglia?).

If Denver&#8217s really serious about getting value (adding draft ammo) in return for valuable players who are unsigned going forward and they want me to believe that moving Lloyd is simply a move to add future assets because we&#8217re rebuilding, then they need to move Orton too. And Dawkins if anyone will give us anything for him.

I don&#8217t know who, if anyone, came out and said &#8220We&#8217ll take a 3rd, 4th, or 5th for him&#8221 but that makes ZERO sense. I doubt that&#8217s the case, and like most headlines is simply conjecture. Maybe Mike Lombardi, failed GM/succesful media personality, could make a call or two to verify that somebody from inside the building actually said that.

As a parting note, the most impressive thing Lloyd&#8217s ever done in Denver, to me, was what he did in the wake of McDaniels getting the axe last season. Within miuntes of the story breaking, Lloyd was on the air (radio) with the Drive (Dmac&#8217s & Al&#8217s show) and he was taking calls and explaining how the players felt and helping the fans piece together what was happening. He was very diplomatic, but transparent at the same time; not an easy line to toe. He came off to me like a fan who has the talent to be a player. And it gave me a new level of respect for Lloyd.

Whatever happens, I wish the guy the best. He&#8217s one of a kind for certain.

Posted by super7 on 2011-10-15 16:20:28

Ted Sundquist seriously has a weird writing style. I don&#8217t get the RANDOM words in CAPITALS.

Posted by overgard on 2011-10-15 16:18:57

Don&#8217t even get me started on J-mac. He set us back 5 years easly with the moves he made as head coach. When you come to a team that was 6th in the league in offence the year before you got there, and gut that same offence, something is wrong. Then he passes on one of the best wRs to take a project guy, (D-thomas over Dez) it makes me wonder what was he thinking.

Posted by Protector07 on 2011-10-15 16:09:02

prospector&#8230that is a joke&#8230you criticized lloyd extensively when he even suggested that orton stay the starter&#8230nice try though&#8230just go back and make some more david and goliath references buddy&#8230at least then you will not be trying to kid everyone around here as to who you really are&#8230the only upside of tebow failing will be that you will cease being a bronco fan&#8230that will be good for us all

Posted by James Howlett on 2011-10-15 16:00:55

As a die hard denver fan since the early 90&#8217s. (I am only 27) i have not been happy with some of the moves we have made over the last decade. this is just another in a long line of things that have had me scraching my head. Lloyd has been the best WR we have had since Rod hung them up, and people are making him out to be the bad guy. This is a shame that our proud team is heading back down a dark path.

Posted by Protector07 on 2011-10-15 16:00:50

It&#8217s interesting. I really want to know what the Broncos financial strategy is. Sundquist has consistently said that the Broncos have a cash problem, and their spending seems to back that up. We have gone from big spend to spend thrift in about five years. I am not saying I want us dropping big money on FAs all the time, but I would like to see us snatch up key players and re-sign our own guys moving forward. Would just like to know a little more about the team&#8217s finances.

Posted by OrangeandBlue27 on 2011-10-15 15:58:46

Yo Doug face it, Orton sucked and move on. He looked good thanks to McD&#8217s play calling, but we still lost. He would step into sacks, and was terrified of getting hit (which is why he sucked on screens). You drank up the kool aid from dove valley, and he&#8217s now out which is what most of us wanted all along. You always fail to mention all of Tebow&#8217s positive STATS (there are plenty), and instead you keep harping on the negative completion percentage. If you don&#8217t like the kid that&#8217s fine, but stop trying to sound so &#8220objective&#8221 while you do it. I have posted many stats that provide proof that Tebow needs to be starting. You have provided nothing but opinion (like all the other hacks).. What was Elway&#8217s rookie completion % ? At least the kid is chucking the rock downfield (averaging an amazing 8.0 yards per attempt). I would rather see Tim score TD&#8217s and throw deeper passes, than lame orton dump pass so he could increase his completion %.. How many times did you see Orton on third down throw a 2 or 3 yard pass to a covered receiver, and pass up the more difficult deeper first down throw&#8230 (Tebow by the way is always thinking first down).. Orton like QB&#8217s pad their %&#8216s, while guys like Tebow just try to win. Period&#8230

Posted by prospector1 on 2011-10-15 15:57:51

Sorry, Gristle. It&#8217s clear that this drama has been caused by the &#8220irrationality&#8221 of Tebow supporters. Just ask Bradley. A Tebow supporter who wants to keep B Lloyd? Nah, couldn&#8217t be.

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2011-10-15 15:54:38

Please see the note I added to my lead just now - I had omitted an important piece of information about the Lloyd situation.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2011-10-15 15:43:18

I&#8217m a tebow guy, and I love B. Lloyd. He can make any qb look good with his highlight catches. I think Ellis should stop being a tight wad, and pony up and sign this kid&#8230 Are we turning into a NFL farm team?

Posted by prospector1 on 2011-10-15 15:40:25

I&#8217m not a fan of the idea of trading Brandon Lloyd but I can understand why the Broncos are considering it. If they aren&#8217t able to come to terms on a new deal, then I understand why the Broncos would try to move him.

I just find it ridiculous that some people assume he must be a locker room malcontent. Let&#8217s see here&#8230 he played just fine with Tim Tebow in Tebow&#8217s three starts last year despite Kyle Orton saying he could have played, he told people he would not hold out of training camp for a new contract and kept his word, he didn&#8217t go punting around balls and making light of training camp drills because he wasn&#8217t getting a new deal, and for everyone who grumbles about the dropped two-point conversion (in which Antoine Cason deserves some credit for getting a hand in there), then why would Lloyd ever bother with making a highlight-reel catch to keep the final drive going?

Orton may have played his way out of the starting job but nobody should be surprised Lloyd would defend him. After all, it was Orton who suggested the Broncos bring Lloyd in and the two obviously have a good rapport with each other.

I think what some people don&#8217t like about Lloyd is that he doesn&#8217t just tell people what they want to hear. He prides himself on following his own mind. I have not seen any quote from him to suggest he&#8217s a malcontent.

I would not like to see him go but I can understand why the Broncos are talking about a possible trade. As for Tebow, I don&#8217t think trading Lloyd sets Tebow up to fail. Tebow has a good rapport with Eric Decker and the Broncos should hopefully have Demaryius Thomas at full strength. Tebow also seems to do well with Matt Willis and, if the move is made to promote Eron Riley from the practice squad, that&#8217s another guy Tebow is familiar with. It will still be a case of Tebow rising or falling on his own merits, not the merits of any particular teammate of his.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2011-10-15 15:33:44

I think someone needs to explain to Sundquist what the Maginot line was.

I am really thankful we&#8217ve got Magazu as our O-line coach the job he&#8217s done is just fantastic. We&#8217ve got a bunch of young guys and they&#8217ve improved a lot. I just hope they can keep improving until they get to be elite.

My takeaway from the article on highly drafted RTs was that your first round LT is actually going to play RT for you. I mean how many of those guys, except for maybe Gosder Cherilus were draft to play RT? It seems to be a spot to put a disappoint LT or a LT in training. Perhaps the conclusion should be teams don&#8217t know how to draft a LT?

Thanks for the work Doug. I appreciate it.

Posted by Fan in Exile on 2011-10-15 15:29:57

Can&#8217t call Royal a draft-day blunder, when Shanahan used him so successfully his rookie year. It has been under new regimes where Royal has struggled.

By the way, even Tebow fanboys can see that BLloyd has the best hands of any Broncos receiver since at least 1976. Hats off to this player, and I hope he will play the upcoming years in the best situation for himself and the Broncos.

Posted by oorange blood on 2011-10-15 15:27:38

B Lloyd made the key block on Moreno&#8217s TD catch last week.

I&#8217ll be bummed out if we trade him, especially for some measly mid/late round pick.

Now if Denver traded DJ or Royal for picks&#8230 I can get behind those deals.

Posted by McGeorges alter ego on 2011-10-15 15:23:31

Great article. I don&#8217t really understand why a 1-4 team with limited talent at WR would want to trade their #1 guy. Can we count on Royal who has played one good game since his rookie season (against Dallas in 2009). Are we really going to get production from Thomas ? Wills barely made the team because we really didn&#8217t have that many WRs. Plus, our tight ends aren&#8217t really setting the house on fire. Are we really going to go with Decker, Thomas & Royal ?? Seriously ?? One of the biggest draft day blunders in Denver history was taking Royal instead of DeSean Jackson !! With all the holes we need to fill in the upcoming draft is WR going to be added to the list now ? Fox: What the heck are you thinking ?

Posted by bronncohowie on 2011-10-15 15:06:05

Rick Reilly, a writer that I at first really enjoyed and now really dislike, wrote a very good piece about Al Davis and the heaps of praise that is being thrown his way posthumus.

I think what you are seeing with Lloyd is simply human nature at being spurned. Fans are assuming that we would move a player of that caliber only if he was a malcontent or asking for obscene money instead of offering a &#8220hometown&#8221 discount.

I think he&#8217s entitled to everything he can get for himself, and the team, if it believes it&#8217s incapable of keeping him, is entitled to try to get something for him. I think it&#8217s all just business, nothing personal.

That said, I agree that I would much prefer keeping him. He&#8217s very talented and does more than just catch balls and alter defenses. He also blocks. In last week&#8217s game, he makes a fantastic block on Moreno&#8217s TD screen pass, after which he jumps up with evident joy at having contributed to the play.

Posted by sterto on 2011-10-15 14:39:47

Tebow lovers, Bradley? Like Ted Sundquist? He comes down pretty hard on Lloyd in his article, but last I knew he really didn&#8217t think much of Tebow or his future.

Anyway&#8230.back to reality. As a &#8220Tebow lover&#8221 myself, I still have mixed feelings about the situation. For the present, he&#8217s the best receiver they have on the roster. Thomas and Royal are injury prone, it seems. So trading Lloyd could really bite them in the arse big time this year. On the other hand, I get why they would want to get more draft picks and continue to rebuild through the draft. There very well could be other inside reasons why both sides don&#8217t want to work it out, but we&#8217ll never know that.

Posted by Gristle McThornbody on 2011-10-15 14:32:58

On the one hand, I understand the reasoning behind getting as much value as they can right now for Lloyd, in the spirit of going ahead with the youth movement.

But on the other, this is a tremendous talent who probably has another 4 good years in him. If he likes Denver enough, I would like to see him extended to a modest deal - since he only had one great year in his career so far, he may settle.

Call me crazy, but the thought of an improved passing attack with Royal, D Thomas, Decker, and Lloyd when the Broncos go 4-wide makes me excited. It would stretch the defense, creating an open receiver on nearly every play. If not, it would surely open up running lanes for Tebow. This is not a bad thing.

But I get the idea that the Broncos may as well get as much value as they can now, since Lloyd&#8217s stock will fall as they move to a more ball control oriented offense. Still, it&#8217s a shame to lose such great talent who could help Tebow out at least &#8216till the end of this season.

Posted by Horsepower on 2011-10-15 14:29:19

Mr. B Lloyd is one of my favorite Broncos for all the reasons you cite above, Doug. I have noticed in many of the games this year that defenses are often rolling their coverages to Lloyd&#8217s side of the field&#8212usually meaning the free safety is lining up on the hash make nearest Lloyd instead of in the middle of the field. That&#8217s bad for Lloyd but good for the other WRs. My concern is that with Lloyd gone, we don&#8217t have anyone that will draw that sort of attention from opposing secondaries. Maybe it&#8217s not that big of a deal, but it is a concern for me and our passing game.

Posted by OrangeandBlue27 on 2011-10-15 14:23:36

Thanks for the Lard, Doug, and especially for your comments on Lloyd. Damn shame that so many Tebow lovers felt compelled to slam Lloyd for sticking up for Orton. This will always be the worst thing about Tebow, the irrationality that follows him around.

Lloyd has been a great receiver for the Broncos and a good guy and a good teammate. I hope the Broncos keep him, but will understand if they trade him, considering his contract situation and all.